the most important artistic innovations

PAPER TOPIC What were the most important artistic innovations that Buddhism brought to China, and how were these accommodated with the long-established art-producing traditions that already existed there? In discussing this question, please focus on a small number of representative examples. General Instructions Refer principally to the assigned readings; you may also consult additional materials, but it should be possible to write a good paper without doing so. A bibliography of useful works in English has been posted on the class website. If you do go beyond the assigned readings please avoid survey books and non-scholarly publications and use websites with critical caution. It is exceedingly important that your paper be properly footnoted; footnotes and bibliography must follow a consistent format. If you refer to journals that are posted on the web, you nevertheless must cite by the page number in the printed published version. Information posted on websites is more often than not unscholarly and unreliable. Website information cannot substitute for printed scholarly publication. If you use information from a website in your paper as a supplement to your readings, make sure to indicate the exact web address in the bibliography. your bibliography should comprise about ten items (but there are no limits). The bibliography should follow the paper. List entries in alphabetical order, following the style exemplified in the syllabus or any other style (whichever format you choose to follow, you should follow consistently). For the structure of your paper, it is often best to stick to the standard succession of introduction–body of the argument–conclusion. The introduction should briefly indicate the importance of the topic. It should then provide a very brief overview of the problem. Finally, it is sometimes effective to hint at your own conclusion–but never give the conclusion in the introduction. The body of the topic can only be arranged according to the given topic. Whatever the topic is, be organized. For instance, if your paper deals with a complex work of architecture: start with the entrance and work your way toward the sanctuary, or, if the logic of the particular case demands, do the reverse. Research papers must critique the literature before taking up the major arguments. The conclusion should first summarize the entire paper, and only then present the actual conclusion itself. You may put information that you consider relevant, but secondary to the main argument, into notes; you may use either footnotes or endnotes. You need not feel obliged, however, to write little satellite papers providing extensive discussion of matters extraneous to the paper. Note that there will always be more information than you need for an effective argument; be sure not to clutter the main text with it. You are advised to illustrate your paper by photocopies appended to your paper. Just use normal photocopies; no need to use actual photographs, etc. All illustrations must be numbered and referred to in the text by their numbers. Alternatively, you may choose to provide a list of captions on a sheet separate from the numbered photocopies. Anything outside of common knowledge must be cited: ideas, theories, technical facts beyond common knowledge, paraphrases, direct quotations, and so on. Never hesitate to give credit where credit is due–it never detracts from you work. To not do this is plagiarism, which is theft. Plagiarism will have serious consequences (see appended circular). Citations can be given either in the notes (as is the custom in most disciplines of the humanities) or inserted in the text (as is more frequently done in the social sciences). Whatever you choose to do, be consistent in the citation style you use. Refer to the most recent edition of the Chicago Manual of Style.